Does Feminism Have Any Place in Christianity?
Before anything else, I am a Christian first.
How about Feminism? Well, I decided to research this topic and not just base this on my opinion of what feminism is or isn't. Wikipedia sites this introduction: "Feminism is a range of political movements, ideologies, and social movements that share a common goal: to define, establish, and achieve political, economic,
personal, and social equality of sexes. This includes seeking to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to such opportunities for men." That sounds reasonable to me so far. We'll take this as the over arching motivation/s for feminism.
God in His Word shows that He is interested in the welfare of people - both men and women. He cares what happens to both, wants both to be re-united in relationship with Him and can work through both men and women. The over arcing reason for Christianity is the be reconciled to God (to have a relationship with God through Jesus).
Understanding the fundamentals of Feminism and realizing that you don't have to subscribe to all the principles of Feminism to identify with some aspects of it is key, I think. It's like Christians involvement in politics; we don't agree 100% with party X or policy Y but being affiliated with or supporting a political cause leads to certain outcomes which are beneficial. Even Feminists don't agree on everything the movement stands for - the small print so to say. That's why there are so many different types of feminists. (https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Feminism&oldid=81262988"2)
Can a Christian be a Feminist? Of course.
Are there challenges with a Christian identifying as a Feminist? Some. The most obvious conflict is on the issue of abortion. The Christian perspective is that abortion is wrong and life begins at conception ("you knit me in my mothers womb" Psalms 139:13). We are pro-life so to say. There are complicated situations that can occur in or around pregnancies but our position is that life is sacred. Then "Third Wave Feminism" also challenges sexuality particularly hetrosexuality which is in direct conflict to Gods stance on sexuality. "In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men..." Romans 1:27. Most Christians would agree with the Bible when it states that we were created to want the opposite sex only for any sort of sexual expression. Another contentious issue for some people, some Christians is their uncomfortableness with the notion that men and women are equal. The Bible when it speaks about the creation of people, notice how God does not have a separate set of instructions for the man than he has for the woman. "So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." Genesis 1:27 when God said to be fruitful and multiply, He also said to reign over His creation. This instruction was for mankind - humanity. Only later after the eating of the fruit do we see God address man and woman individually. When Eve was created after Adam, the instructions did not change. In fact Eve would be the catalyst through which humanity would multiply.
Sin entered the world and we were distracted from our original purpose of relationship with God. If both men and women are created in Gods image, we are the same in His sight.
If Jesus went against the social norms of the day (as many experts on those times say He did), by speaking to women in public particularly the Samaritan woman, we see that women are still part of Gods concern for humanity. After all, he allowed a "sinful woman" to wash His feet, he healed the woman with the issue of blood, he pardoned the woman caught in adultery, Mary was allowed to pour perfume on His feet and of course, the first people to learn that Jesus was raised from the dead were women!. Many interactions with women, many interactions with men - a God for us all.
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." Galatians 3:28
Enough said.